Having grown up in an era of rockism, with its focus on establishing canon and a veneer of "objective greatness" for its anointed subjects, and the accompanying disdain and dismissal bordering on hate speech for anything that challenged that paradigm, it's been eye opening.

I'm finding albums that sound like stuff that Rolling Stone was excoriating in '89 as "pure self indulgent wankery from an artists who should know better" and its obvious the person who made it didn't agree with that take AT ALL LOL

Not to mention whole genres that were ridiculed and treated with disgust that have been reclaimed -- disco and fusion are the two that immediately leap to mind. Man, Serious Rock Guys HATED fusion (but secretly loved Steely Dan LOL) for the longest time.

If there is a message here, it is please enjoy and utilize criticism for what it is worth, but NEVER let any critic or cultural commentator tell you something is useless, worthless, pointless or not worth your time. If you like it, at all, so do many, many other people, and you're right to do so.

And certainly, if you're a musician, just make what you love.

@etherdiver Yes! It's my way to think about it, too.
If I like making it, there is chances that (at least some) other people will like it too.